Mercy Regional’s flu policy is draconian

While I understand Mercy’s obligation to bow to the directives about flu shots issued by big brother Centura (Herald, Nov. 4), my question is this: What about the hundreds of nonemployees entering the facility every day? Mercy is a Four Corners hub for everything from lab work to diagnostic imaging to same-day procedures. And what about patients’ visitors? Is the next step a team of “vaccinators” waiting at the front entrance?

It seems to me to be little more than a vainglorious attempt to promote a product that is lining the pockets of the pharmaceutical industry while showing little, if any, efficacy. And, in the meantime, are the employees who are being threatened with termination being educated as to the risks of the vaccine? The average flu shot contains 25 micrograms of mercury, an amount considered unsafe by the EPA for anyone weighing less than 550 pounds. People age 55 or older who receive the flu vaccine each year, for five years in a row, increase their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by a whopping 1,000 percent.

Mercy employees should be allowed to make an educated decision as to whether or not they choose to be exposed to these dangers and be offered safe alternatives, such as face masks, if they don’t. The “vaccinate or terminate” philosophy is nothing less than draconian.